Piano-action.



PATENTED MAY 17, 1904.

T. BEYER. PIANO AGTIONL APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

1111a r; llbeodo e z Patented May 17, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE BEYER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,37 '7, dated May1'7, 1904. Application filed May 11, 1903. Serial No. 156,531. (Nomodel.)

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODORE BEYER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. a

My invention relates to abalance-check introduced into a piano-action toserve as a medium for holding the hammer of the action in a positionintermediate of its limits of movement, so that repetitions of itsmovement to the piano-strings may be quickly accomplished without thenecessity of permitting the return of the action-operating key to itsnormal position.

My invention consists in features of novelty hereinafter fullydescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure I is a side elevation of a piano-action embodying my improvement.enlarged view of parts shown in Fig. I. Figs. III, IV, and V areelevations of similar parts to those shown in Fig. II, illustratingmodifications of my invention.

1 designates the rear end of a piano-keyboard key which is surmounted bythe extension 2, which carries the jack-rocker 3, as usual.

4 is the jack, which is pivotally supported above rocker 3 and the upperend of which is maintained normally in a rearwardly-projected positionby a spring 5, situated beneath the heel 6 of the jack and resting onthe rocker 3.

7 designates the center rail of the piano, to which the hammer-butt 8 ispivoted in the usual manner. The hammer-butt 8 carries the shank 9, towhich the hammer 10 is secured.

11 is the hammer-support rail,against which the shank 9 normally rests.

12 designates the back-stop of the action carried by the shank 13,connected to the hammer-butt 8 and facing the back-check 14, which issupported by the jack-rocker 3.

All of the parts thus far described are wellknown features ofconstruction in apiano-action, and no invention, per 86, is hereinclaimed Fig. II is an for such parts, they being described only for thepurpose of providing for the description of my improvement in connectionwith them, as will be presently set forth.

Other parts of the piano-action than those described are illustrated inthe drawings; but the description given is deemed suflicient, as it setsforth all of the parts of the action with which my improvement is in anyway concerned.

In piano-actions heretofore made, so far as I am aware, there has beenconstant tendency of the upper ends or arms of the jacks, such as that,4, illustrated in my drawings, to pass upwardly and forwardly beneaththe hammerbutt 8 after the hammer has been moved to a piano-string uponthe depression of the corresponding keyboard-key. Whenever this forwardand upward movement of the jack occurs, the upper end of the jack isplaced out of position to bear directly and with throwing effect againstthe hammer-butt after the keyboardkey has been depressed and haspartially returned to its normal position. For this reason it has beenimpossible to quickly actuate the string-striking hammer in repeatingaction; but instead it has been found necessary to permit thekeyboard-key to return fully to normal position in order that the jackmay resume direct bearing engagement with the hammerbutt beneath it. Inorder to prevent the occurrence of the conditions stated, I provide abalance-check which occupies a position be tween the jack of the actionand the shank of the back-stop carried by the hammer-butt and throughthe medium of which the hammer is balanced between the limits of itsmovement immediately after a string has been struck thereby and ismaintained in such balanced position to hold the jack in a positionwhere it will engage the hammer-butt directly for a repeating strokewhen the hammer is in position intermediate of the limit of its movementto and from its corresponding string.

As seen in Figs. I and II, my balance-check consists of the followingmembers: 15 is a buffer-spring secured at one end to the shank of theback-stop 12 and extending downwardly therefrom. The lower free end ofthis bufferspring carries a head 16, that preferably includcs a feltdisk 17. 18 is a bumper which passes through the jack 4, preferably in adiagonal direction, and which is provided with a head 19, located inproximity to the head carried by the bufi'er-spring 15. The bumper 18 ispreferably made with a screw-threaded shank, as illustrated, in orderthat it may be adjusted vertically to position its head, so that it willreceive the impact of the head of the bufl'er-spring.

In the practical operation of a piano-action supplied with myimprovement when the jack 4 is elevated to act against the hammer-butt 8and subsequently moves forwardly toward the back-stop 12 the head of thebumper 18 moves from the position seen in Fig. I to that seen in Fig.II, in which latter position its head 19 is beneath the head 16 of thebuiferspring 15. It will be understood that when the jack 1 moved to theposition seen in Fig. II it actuated the hammer-butt 8 to throw thehammer rearwardly to its corresponding string. WV hen the hammer againmoves forwardly toward the hammer-support rail 11, it is yieldinglystopped by the head of the buffer-spring 15 striking against the bumper18, as seen in Fig. II, such stoppage occurring before the hammer hasreached the limit of its forward movement, and the hammer is thereforeheld in a balanced position. While the hammer is in the balancedposition referred to, each upward movement of the jack 4 causes thebumper 18 to act against the head of the buffer-spring 15 to actuate thehammer instead of the jack acting directly against the hammer-butt. As aconsequence of the hammer being brought to a balanced position, asstated, a quick or any number of quick successive depressions of thekeyboard-key may be made by the person performing upon the piano withoutthe least difficulty and without the necessity of allowing thekeyboard-key to return to its normal position after each depression, asis the case in piano-actions in which my improvement is not present.

In Fig. 111, I have shown a modification in which the positions of mybalance members are reversed from those in which they are shown in Figs.I and II, the bufl'er-spring15, with its head 16, being carried by thejack 4 and the bumper 19 being carried by the backstop-shank 13.

In the modification shown in Fig. IV the bumper 18" is carried by theback-stop shank 13 and in turn carries the buifcr-spring15 and its head16". In this construction the head of the buffer-spring is adapted toreceive the engagement of a projection 4, carried by the jack 4. In themodification shown in Fig. V the buffer-spring 15 and its head are carried by the back-stop shank and the bumper 18 passes through theprojection a at the side of the jack 1 instead of passing downwardlythrough the jack proper, as illustrated in Figs. I and II.

By locating the lugs and adjusting-screws on the jacks at a point belowtheir upper ends and extending the buffer-spring downwardly a sufficientdistance to contact with said lugs and screws the point of contactbetween the lugs and spring is brought into a horizontal plane below thehorizontal plane occupied by the pivot of the hammer-butt, and thisfeature is very essential, inasmuch as a certain amount of leverage isobtained between the shank and the jack, which, together with the actionof the buffer-spring, more quickly accomplishes the return of the jackto its position beneath the hammer butt. This improved result cannot beobtained where the buffer-spring contacts with the jack in ahorizontalplane above the horizontal plane occupied by the pivot of thehammer-butt.

I claim as my invention 1. In a piano-action, the combination with ahammer-butt, a shank carried thereby, and a jack, and mechanism foractuating said jack, of a buffer-spring carried by said shank, a headcarried by said buffer-spring, and an adjustable bumper carried by saidjack for engagement with said buffer-spring head, substantially as setforth.

2. In a piano-action, the combination with a pivoted hammer-butt, ashank carried thereby, a jack, and mechanism for actuating said jack, ofan adjusting-screw carried by said jack, a buffer-spring interposedbetween the head of the adjusting-screw and the shank; the point ofcontact between said screw and buffer-spring being in a horizontal planebelow the horizontal plane occupied by the pivotpoint of thehammer-butt, substantially as specified.

THEODORE BEYER.

In presence of- E. S. KNIGHT, M. I. SMrru.

